News

Stab victim "hit attacker with wardrobe drawer"

A STAB victim who was knifed three times in the chest told a court how he picked up a wardrobe drawer and hit his attacker with it in a bid to protect himself.

Carl Ajib said he screamed at Mohammed Jama to get off him during the struggle at the house they shared in Brompton Street, Middlesbrough.

The Crown say Mr Jama lashed out with a flurry of punches and chased Mr Ajib into a bedroom belonging to the victim's cousin Abdiaziz Ahmed, before stabbing him following an argument about household bills.

Mr Ajib said that having been stabbed, he hit Mr Jama twice with the drawer and also managed to grab hold of the knife blade which was being wielded in his direction.

He said: “I had to stop him before he did anything else.”

With the help of Mr Ahmed, Mr Ajib eventually managed to escape from the bedroom, locking Mr Jama in, but not before he had been stabbed twice more.

He said he wrapped a jumper around his chest in order to stem the bleeding, while Mr Ahmed called an ambulance.

Dr Jennifer Bolton, a Home Office pathologist, said Mr Ajib suffered three stab wounds, one of which led to a collapsed lung, which was a life-threatening injury.

He also sustained a fractured eye socket and hand wounds, typical of defensive-type injuries.

Mr Ahmed, in his evidence, claimed the defendant had “wanted to kill” Mr Ajib.

Mr Ahmed denied he had “tailored” his account of events to blame Mr Jama for something he had not done.

Mr Jama denies attempted murder on August 25 last year and the trial at Teesside Crown Court continues.